Nissan India launches the Terrano

Nissan unveiled its latest offering - the Terrano, a couple of months back. Nissan India had promised at the unveiling that the price of the car will be sub-10 lakhs and true to their word, the Japanese company has launched its compact SUV at Rs 9.59 lakhs (ex-showroom New Delhi).

Based on the Renault Duster, the Terrano will be manufactured at the Renault-Nissan alliance plant in Chennai. The Terrano will be available in seven variants spread across three engine options: the 108 bhp diesel, the 83bhp diesel and the 102bhp petrol.

This fourth generation Terrano derives its inspiration from the Japanese car manufacturers SUV's Pathfinder and the Patrol and stays true to the Nissan DNA when it comes to styling. The Terrano's front-end highlights Nissan's V-Motion design signature and the sharp headlamp design adds to the muscular look of the car.

All-new 16-inch, chrome-coated, machined-alloy wheels come as standard on the XL Plus, XV and XV Premium variants. Inside you find the two-tone dash which features chrome surrounds for the AC vents and silver-finished accents around the glossy, piano black centre console.

The Terrano comes with a choice of three power plans - the 1.5-litre dCi diesel engine offered in two states of tune, 108bhp and 83bhp respectively and a 1.6-litre petrol engine churning out 102bhp. The 107bhp diesel comes with a 6-speed transmission while the rest of the range gets a 5-speed gearbox.

The 83bhp diesel will be available in base XE, XL and XL Plus trims whereas the 108bhp diesel will be available in XL, XV and the top of the line XV Premium trims. The petrol variant will only be available in the mid-level XL trim.

The Terrano XV Premium comes fully loaded with a Bluetooth enabled in-dash audio system, leather upholstery, premium zebra wood finish door trim inserts, rear air conditioner, 16-inch machined alloy wheels and reverse parking sensors. A 6.1-inch touchscreen entertainment system with navigation is available as an accessory and so is a steering mounted audio control module.

Driver side airbag is standard even on the base XE and XL variants. Other safety features include passenger airbag, Anti-lock Braking system (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) Brake Assist (BA) and reverse parking sensors on higher variants.

Mr. Kenichiro Yomura, President, Nissan India Operations, said, "We are confident that Terrano's stylish exterior, premium interior and a well-balanced dynamic package will appeal to SUV lovers in India. Terrano is an important product for us and will set the pace for future product launches stated for 2014."

Nissan says that it has already received 6000 bookings since the unveiling of the Terrano and so far the response has been amazing.

The following are the prices of the Terrano (all prices ex-showroom New Delhi):

XE- 9.59 lakhs

XL - 10.66 lakhs

XL Plus - 10.94 lakhs

XE - 11.33 lakhs

XL - 12.16 lakhs

XV Premium - 12.46 lakhs

XL - 9.79 lakhs